USA Coin Book
Quarter · $0.25
1854-O Seated Liberty Quarter (1838-1891)
FS-501
Key Features
FS-501: Huge O mintmark [Cross-ref: Briggs 1-A/1-D] Source: https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-REPK6/ This robust design run bore witness to massive gold discoveries, Western frontier settlement, and deep wartime duress.
Intriguing History
By 1854, the California Gold Rush was flooding the country with bullion, prompting new gold denominations and, in 1854, a brand-new branch mint in San Francisco, even as the Compromise of 1850 papered over the deepening sectional dispute over slavery in the new territories. This Seated Liberty quarter, in production for more than half a century, was struck during exactly this period. This one came from the New Orleans Mint, the Mint's southern branch on the Mississippi River.
Total Weight6.25 g